“Buddy”

Buddy is a 3 yr old rescue. He was found in a Walmart parking lot and he is absolutely terrified of everything. From the sight of his leash to noises to people and just about everything in between. If he could be afraid of his shadow, I believe he would be. He didn’t even like to go outside.

His new humans hired me to help them with him. This guy was shut down so bad. If you ever see the ASPCA commercials at Christmas and see that little dog staring at the corner all cowered and trembling, this was Buddy. He didn’t really like to play much. He wouldn’t take food and wasn’t food motivated. He knew typical “obedience commands” (as much as I hate saying those words, they are what a lot of people think of when it comes to “training” a dog). He knew his sit, down, stay. Anything else would get a tremble, freezing, heavy panting or urinating on the floor. This guy can not handle pressure of any sort and I imagine if he could shrink himself enough to disappear, he would. Boy was he going to be a challenge.

When I first met him in person, he refused to come off what I call his “island”. His island is an area rug in the middle of the living room. He did not seem to like to touch the wood floors and somehow felt safe on his island, in a frozen state, creeping around, tight lipped, tail tucked underneath. There was no way I was going to be able to get near him without traumatizing him. He gave me very clear communication signals and I was absolutely going to respect that.

So for the next few weeks, his humans and I started working on Buddy. We were all determined to help him as much as possible. I have been video noting his progress. Nothing flashy and exciting here with this guy. Not at all. My goal is to not force this dog to do anything he didn’t want to. My goal is to get him to understand that he has choices about what happens to him and if he wants to opt out, we will respect that. I feel deep down inside that I want to do all I can to gain his trust and help him unlock himself inside. I know there was a dog that yearns to be free from fear in that little head of his. We just have to help him discover it.

We have a good road in front of us yet. We are moving at his comfortable pace and slowly helping him to learn a different way of life.

I have not been able to get that close to Buddy. He just isn’t comfortable. We managed to work up to me kneeling down and him approaching me for some treats, but then he was gone again. Each time I visited, he was on his island. Each time I visited him, I tried to show him that I meant him no harm. His humans kept working on his skills training.

Imagine my surprise when I went to visit him yesterday and Buddy WASN’T ON HIS ISLAND!! He gave me a few WOOF WOOFS but he was closer to me than he had ever been and quieted himself down enough to start working on our training. It has been like a slow, slow dance with him. Buddy making one move, me making another. He accepting or rejecting it and making his move again. And so it’s been like that with him.

I had goose bumps on my arms seeing the wonderful choices he was making. His tail was still down but not tucked under. He was dancing at a quicker step with me and engaging with me while I was still up on my feet. I can not begin to tell you how overjoyed I was to see this in him. He didn’t have to do any of it and I would have respected him. I never forced him. I never will. I never tried to shock it out of him. Hell no. This guy has suffered severe trauma and has had a life that lacked trust, consideration and support. All that is changing now.

I appreciate his humans so much for hanging in there and not giving up on him like so many would. He is far from the perfect dog. Newsflash, there is no thing as a perfect dog. A lot of these rescue dogs have been through hell and that doesn’t just go away once they get in their new homes. Behavior issues are as common in dogs as they are in people. I am so glad these folks found me because it has been wonderful to be a part of it all.

So while he isn’t jumping through hoops or doing fancy twirls, I think his dancing is coming along just fine. He worked so hard in this last session but he didn’t seem to want it to end. He wants to be a professional dancer! Deep down inside I can just feel it!

Buddy chose to stay off his island and start swimming towards a happier life. We are going to help this guy achieve his goals! Stay tuned!,…